Smith brilliant in return to IronPigs rotation

He allows four hits over 6 2/3 innings in 2-0 win over Syracuse before rain ends his night.

July 03, 2013|By Jeff Schuler, Of The Morning Call

With Greg Smith finally back in his familiar role as a starter following the first extended stay in the bullpen of his career, the only question was how stretched out the veteran would be in Wednesday night's game with visiting Syracuse.

Turns out, the only thing that stopped the 29-year-old left hander was Mother Nature.

Smith allowed four hits over 6 2/3 scoreless innings before rain halted his brilliant outing, combining with two relievers on a five-hitter in a 2-0 victory over the Chiefs before a sellout crowd of 10,100.

"You couldn't draw it up any better — other than the rain," IronPigs manager Dave Brundage said of the team's International League-leading 10th shutout of the season and the third in four games.

Earlier in the day third baseman Cody Asche and second baseman Cesar Hernandez were named to the International League squad that will meet the Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A All-Star game in Reno on July 17.

Smith had made just six relief appearances in his nine-year career before this season but had come out of the bullpen eight times since being promoted from Reading, compiling a 6.75 ERA as a reliever.

But he has yet to allow a run as an IronPig starter in 20 2/3 innings over four strarts, allowing 13 hits and walking only one.

"Let's not talk abou tthat yet," Brundage quipped when talking about Smith's stats as a starter. "He's done a good job, and that's one of the reasons why we put him back in the rotation — not because he hasn't given up runs, but because he's more suited for starting. He looks so much more comfortable, and he looks so much more in the flow."

Since throwing 70 pitches in a spot start at Buftfalo on June 7, Smith (3-3) averaged 27 pitches over his last six outings, and that includes 41 he threw in three innings last Friday in another spot start against Durham.

But on Friday, Smith threw a season-high 72 pitches (one more than he threw in his first outing, a five-inning start back on May 21) and was two strikes away from seven full innings when the rains came, leading to a 63-minute delay and the end of Smith's night.

Without the rain, Smith said, "I thought maybe I could go out there in the eighth and see what would happen." However, Brudnage said his night was likely over after seven innings no matter what the weather.

"His pitch count was probably 75 or 80," Brundage said. "He felt great, and I kept checking because he hadn't gone that deep, but he was efficient with his pitches and didn't have to work that hard for his outs. He got out early in the count."

Smith struck out five and walked none, throwing 47 of his pitches for strikes.

"He's done everything we've asked him to do," Brundage said. "Tonight I asked him to go out and give us seven shutout innings, and he fell just shy fo that."

When the game resumed, Cesar Jimenez inherited a 1-1 count on Chris Rahl and got the right fielder to groundout to end the inning, then pitched around a one-out walk to ex-IronPig Brian Bocock in the enghth.

Luis Garcia notched his second save but left runners on the corners when he got Rahl to fly out to right on the first pitch after walking Zach Walters.

"When he's available, I like putting him out there [in save situations]," Brundage said of the right hander, who began the season with an independent season and has moved up through three levels since signing with the Phillies. "With a big arm, and two big power pitches, that's a role he could that he could assume, and we'll see how he does I ntaht role."

Run-scoring singles by Leandro Castro in the fourth inning and by Freddy Galvis in the fifth gave Lehigh Valley its only runs off Danny Rosenbaum.

Castro's line drive to right chased in Cesar Hernandez, who slapped a oe-out single and got to third on a walk and a fielder's choice groudnout.

"He has a knack for the big situation," Brundage said of Castro, who had hits.

Galvis followed a one-out single by Tyson Gillies and a sacrifice bunt by Smith with a line drive single to left, with Gillies racing home form second as the throw was cut off a Galvis caught in a rundown.

Galvis, playing third for the first time since coming down from the Phillies last week, made a spectacular play in the first to take extra bases away from Danny Espinosa. Galvis leaped high while lunging to his right to grab Espinosa's high chopper over the bag and threw a missle across to Fields within a split second of his feet touching the grownd to nip Espinosa at the bag.

Asche and Hernandez were the IronPigs only selections on the IL all-star squad.

"I voted for both those guys," Brundage said. "I really felt, when I went up and down and looked at each position, I saw Cesar Hernandez as the best second baseman in the league, and I thought Cody Asche was the best third baseman in the league — overall, the complete package."

Wednesday night's game with Syracuse at Coca-Cola Park was delayed about an hour by rain during the seventh inning and ended too late for this edition.

Asche, in only his second full season since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2011 draft, is hitting .284 with eight homers and a team-high 48 RBIs in 81 games.

"You always feel good when you're honored alongside a bunch of great players in your league," Asche said. "I'm excited about it."

Hernandez, also 23 but in his seventh season after signing as a 16-year-old on July 2, 2006, is among the IL's leading hitters with 83 hits and a .308 average. He also has 26 steals, third-best in the league.